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Is Earth Exceptional? : The Quest for Cosmic Life by Mario Livio and Jack Szostak (2024, Hardcover)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherBasic Books

ISBN-10154160296X

ISBN-139781541602960

eBay Product ID (ePID)4064786308

Product Key Features

Book TitleIs Earth Exceptional? : the Quest for Cosmic Life

Number of Pages336 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicLife Sciences / Biochemistry, Life Sciences / Evolution, Space Science, Life Sciences / Biology

Publication Year2024

IllustratorYes

GenreScience

AuthorMario Livio, Jack Szostak

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.1 in

Item Weight19.2 Oz

Item Length9.6 in

Item Width6.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2024-002954

Dewey Edition23

Reviews"A mind-blowing ramble through the RNA world and beyond, that confronts the ultimate challenge for the origins of life: are we alone in the Universe?" -- Joseph Silk, author of Back to the Moon: The Next Giant Leap for Humankind, "[Livio and Szostak] deliver a compelling account... the latest on a fascinating search."-- Kirkus Reviews, "How did life begin? Are we alone in the cosmos? These are eternally-fascinating mysteries. But what's so exciting today is that novel insights and improved instruments are generating real scientific progress towards solving them. General readers should be grateful to the two authors of this book-distinguished in astronomy and in biochemistry--for expounding current debates and future prospects with authority and clarity. Their timely book shows how science fiction is turning into real science: it deserves wide readership."-- Martin Rees, UK Astronomer Royal, bestselling author of If Science is to Save Us, "This is an exceptional book on an exceptional question. With astronomers finally poised to begin the search for alien life in earnest, Livio and Szostak offer a beautifully written and accessible tour of the essential questions surrounding that quest. From how life begins to which planets it might begin on, Is Earth Exceptional? delivers deep insights into the cutting edge science needed to answer those questions. This is a must read book for anyone interested in the ancient question of life and its cosmic fecundity."-- Adam Frank, Professor of Astrophysics and author of The Little Book of Aliens, " Is Earth Exceptional? is a mesmerizing exploration of life's origins and its potential beyond our planet. With profound insights from astrophysicist Mario Livio and my PhD advisor and Nobel Laureate Jack Szostak, this is a must-read for anyone curious about the universe and our place within it."-- Jennifer Doudna, Nobel Laureate and co-author of A Crack in Creation, "The book offers a sweeping view of the nascent science of astrobiology, a multi-disciplinary field melding biology, chemistry, astronomy an more." -- David Dickinson , Universe Today, "Mario Livio and Jack Szostak have written a comprehensive and compelling review of the evidence of how the origin of life might have happened and the chances of finding life elsewhere in the universe. It's a great combination of the chemistry and biology of life's origins by one of the top researchers in the field and a best-selling astrophysicist who guide us through the exciting breakthroughs in exobiology and the potential for extraterrestrial life. A fascinating read to a general reader looking for answers to the question "are we alone in the universe?". Enjoyable, and highly informative."-- J. Craig Venter, Leader of the teams that sequenced the first human genome and built the first synthetic cell, "A mind-blowing ramble through the RNA world and beyond, that confronts the ultimate challenge for the origins of life: are we alone in the Universe?"-- Joseph Silk, author of Back to the Moon: The Next Giant Leap for Humankind, "A masterful and insightful traverse from historical milestones to the forefront of modern science, Is Earth Exceptional? offers an indispensable guide for anyone seeking to understand the puzzles and mysteries surrounding the beginnings of life and its potential beyond Earth."-- Sara Seager, Professor of Physics, Planetary Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT, " Is Earth Exceptional? connects current research about two questions, 'Is life out there?' and 'How did life start here?' to where they meet in the middle in a way that is exciting and accessible. This is the biggest human quest, to understand our place in the Universe. I highly recommend this book...it is exceptional."-- Adam Riess, Nobel Laureate and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins, "[ Is Earth Exceptional? ] gives a good impression of how much has been achieved, and how much further there is to go." -- The Wall Street Journal

Dewey Decimal576.83

SynopsisA New York Times -bestselling astrophysicist and a Nobel laureate take us on "a mesmerizing exploration" (Jennifer Doudna) to discover how and where the universe breathed itself into life For a long time, scientists have wondered how life has emerged from inanimate chemistry, and whether Earth is the only place where it exists. Charles Darwin speculated about life on Earth beginning in a warm little pond. Some of his contemporaries believed that life existed on Mars. It once seemed inevitable that the truth would be known by now. It is not. For more than a century, the origins and extent of life have remained shrouded in mystery. But, as Mario Livio and Jack Szostak reveal in Is Earth Exceptional? , the veil is finally lifting. The authors describe how life's building blocks--from RNA to amino acids and cells--could have emerged from the chaos of Earth's early existence. They then apply the knowledge gathered from cutting-edge research across the sciences to the search for life in the cosmos: both life as we know it and life as we don't. Why and where life exists are two of the biggest unsolved problems in science. Is Earth Exceptional? is the ultimate exploration of the question of whether life is a freak accident or a chemical imperative.

LC Classification NumberQH326.L58 2024